AUTHOR ARCHIVES

Alex Roarty

Alex is the chief political correspondent for National Journal Hotline. Since joining National Journal in 2010, he has covered House and Senate races, the GOP presidential primary, and the 2012 presidential campaign. Prior to joining National Journal, he covered Pennsylvania politics and government, most recently as editor of the Harrisburg-based PoliticsPA.com.

November 19, 2015
The House bill paus­ing Syr­i­an refugee re­set­tle­ments in­to the U.S. may nev­er be­come law, but a strong bi­par­tis­an House vote all but as­sures the is­sue will re­sur­face after the Thanks­giv­ing break with Re­pub­lic­ans in a po­s­i­tion of strength. With 47 Demo­crats join­ing all but two Re­pub­lic­ans to pass the bill...

August 7, 2015
CLEVELAND—Donald Trump dominated the night, but the first prime-time Republican presidential debate of 2016 provided ample space for other contenders to make a mark on an uncomfortably crowded stage. In fact, the first 90 seconds of Thursday's explosive main event were more entertaining than all 90 minutes of the earlier...

June 23, 2015
MADISON, Wisconsin—Talk to many Wisconsin Republicans about Ron Johnson, and they'll ask to keep their names out of the story. On the record, their kindest praise can sound like a backhanded compliment: The freshman senator is getting better at his job. At a time of deep anger with government, many...

May 27, 2015
In Republican presidential primaries, the candidate who finished second last time usually begins as a front-runner when they run again. That's not the case with Rick Santorum, who on Wednesday will announce he's once again running for president in an ABC New interview.The former senator from Pennsylvania begins his second...

April 15, 2015
A GOP poll is reinforcing Republican strategists' conviction that foreign policy will be a major issue in 2016—one the party believes it can wield to its advantage against Democratic congressional candidates and Hillary Clinton. The internal survey, conducted by the GOP firm OnMessage, found that security issues ranked first on...

April 2, 2015
In the wake of President Bush's presidency, foreign policy was long a thorny subject for Republican candidates to discuss, with many struggling to balance their interventionist instincts with lingering memories of the unpopular Iraq war. But fresh concerns about deteriorating global security and President Obama's response to it have emboldened...

November 17, 2014
It didn't take long for the 2016 election to reach its first major crossroads. As early as this week, President Obama is expected to ignore the wishes of congressional Republicans and announce that he will unilaterally defer deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants. When he does, Republicans and Democrats alike...

October 3, 2014
The Secret Service's public humiliation and the country's first Ebola diagnosis—topics that would appear at least one step removed from partisan warfare—aren't ready-made issues for the campaign trail. But in roughly 24 hours, one candidate has managed to insert both into his own race. Thom Tillis, the Republican Senate nominee...

September 22, 2014
The shifting politics of foreign policy has scrambled the calculations for both parties ahead of the November elections. It has put some Senate candidates, unaccustomed to talking about national security issues, in an uncomfortable position, while elevating others with military experience and foreign policy bona fides. Candidates' past votes, comments,...

September 19, 2014
House Republicans are making a big bet that in the final weeks of the midterm election they can exploit doubts about President Obama's foreign policy to persuade late-deciding voters to support Republicans. The National Republican Congressional Committee announced Friday a quartet of new ads focusing on national security. One, airing...